agriculture

This year’s finalists for the title of Princess Kay of the Milky Way have been named. The 12 young women from dairy farm backgrounds were selected at the conclusion of a three-day event for county dairy princesses held in St. Joseph.

Young women from around the state will be in St. Joseph this weekend, competing to be a finalist for the next Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The Midwest Dairy Association will name the 12 finalists on Sunday, during a luncheon at the Gorecki Center at the College of St. Benedict.

Area farm families who have worked their land for over 100 years are being recognized as "Century Farms". The Minnesota State Fair and Minnesota Farm Bureau will honor 185 farms as "Century Farms" this year at the fair.

Minnesota farmers took advantage of a small break in the cold, wet weather and have now planted more than a quarter of the state's corn crop. In its weekly crop weather report for Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday corn was 28 percent planted by Sunday, a big jump from 1 percent a week earlier.

The first of our area farmers markets will be opening tomorrow (Saturday). The St. Cloud Farmers Market will be open from 8:00 a.m. until noon in the Bremer Bank parking lot. They'll be open every Saturday morning into this fall. We have a list of other area farmers markets openings as well.

Our cold weather has pushed back the spring planting season in Minnesota. University of Minnesota Extension Educator Dan Martens says farmers are about two weeks behind schedule. He says farmers like to have all of their small grains planted by now, and are usually moving on to corn planting by the last week in April.

Minnesota officials advise consumers to check for health and hardiness when buying trees, shrubs and other landscaping plants. The state Agriculture Department says nursery inspectors already have found dead and damaged packaged plants in some Minnesota stores.

The 30th anniversary edition of the Minnesota Grown Directory is now in season. The director lists hundreds of places to find locally grown foods.

Cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and sheep will be visiting the heart of an urban college campus. Tuesday marks the second annual Agriculture Awareness Day on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Senate has voted to lift restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from coal production that critics say prevented both construction of new coal plants in the state, and purchase of energy from new coal plants in neighboring states.The Senate voted 42-18 in favor lifting the restrictions. They say the bill will allow the state to keep up with what's expected to be growing energy needs to keep up with economic growth.